Religious Vitality in Victorian London by W. M. Jacob

Abstract

Reviewed by: Religious Vitality in Victorian London by W. M. Jacob Mark D. Chapman Religious Vitality in Victorian London BY W. M. JACOB Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021. xi + 348 pages. Hardback: £75. ISBN: 9780192897404. In this wide-ranging and comprehensive survey of religious life in London in the last sixty years or so of the nineteenth century, William Jacob offers a reliable guide to how the different churches and other religious groups addressed the social and political changes accompanying the unprecedented expansion of the world’s largest city. It was a time marked by rapid population growth and movement towards the suburbs as well as the period of the expansion of the British Empire. Jacob challenges the assumptions of some earlier commentators who regarded urbanization as marked by religious decline: there was instead a widespread “diffusive Christianity” that touched communities across the capital even though it [End Page 85] was not necessarily accompanied by church attendance (47). The impact of the churches in various types of philanthropy from parish visiting to various forms of welfare meant that religious communities continued to exert a huge influence on society: there is very little evidence of secularization before the end of the century. Religion remained big business and even functioned as a tourist attraction with people travelling from far and wide to hear famous preachers or to visit churches offering liturgy in the latest style. Through mastery of the primary sources, as well as virtually everything that has been published on the subject, Jacob tells a complex story with many twists and turns. After two chapters of context setting where he locates the growth of London alongside its place at the heart of a massive multi-national trading empire, he goes on to discuss the various religious groups beginning with the Church of England, which, unlike in many of the other large cities in England, continued to dominate the religious landscape throughout the century. Under the hyper-active Bishop Charles Blomfield and his successor A. C. Tait, there was rapid church expansion with many new buildings and division of parishes, along with new endowments and organizations devoted to various forms of domestic mission and education. One of the wealthiest women in England, Angela Burdett-Coutts, of the banking family, donated vast sums for building churches across the city, as well as providing resources for stipends. At the same time, the increasing pluralization of religious communities meant that some of the trappings of establishment were challenged with the result that the voluntary principle became central for the Church of England: there were many societies promoting voluntary activities, which enabled the middle-classes, including many women, to be involved in forms of ministry, especially among the poor. Alongside this, however, was the perennial problem of churchmanship, which led to competition between varieties of Anglicanism. Large amounts of energy were expended on anti-ritualist campaigns and opposition to what was often perceived as scarcely disguised “Romanism.” Despite this division, however, Jacob concludes that there was a spiritual mobilization in London that allowed the church to engage with all strata of society far more effectively than in other large cities across Europe. Its effects were felt in education, the so-called “settlements” where the wealthy lived among the poor, as well as the large number of parish-based societies that were able to penetrate the lives of the working classes. Chapter five addresses nonconformity in all its complexity. While there was an expansion of nonconformity it remained relatively small with the “old dissent,” especially Congregationalism, stronger than the various varieties of Methodism, which had emerged in the late eighteenth century. While there were some “mega-chapels” such as Charles Spurgeon’s at Elephant and Castle that attracted large congregations, these often declined after the charismatic minister left. It was often difficult to attract funds to ensure continuity of ministry, although there were many wealthy nonconformist benefactors who helped denominations erect churches to [End Page 86] rival those of their Anglican competitors. While some chapels engaged with the poor, particularly in response to the campaigns by the nonconformist journalist W. T. Stead, there was often a reluctance to engage with projects for widespread social improvement. The independent...